COCHINITA PIBIL | SLOW-ROASTED YUCATECAN PORK

During a recent trip to Mexico, our good friend and chef prepared this incredible pork recipe. Ingrid Pankonin of Miel Cooking, put together this dish in her bikini during a day of surfing at our beach house. It all happened so effortlessly and turned into a beautiful dinner under the palapa with the sound of waves as our soundtrack. Our dinner table was also joined by Linda Aldredge, of Lulu Organics. It was true tropical magic with good folks and constant laughs.

COCHINITA PIBIL

This traditional Mexican style pork recipe is from the Yucatan peninsula with Mayan origin. Ingrid improvised this recipe which was based on Diane Kennedy's version from her book, The Cuisines of Mexico.

Pierce the pork all over and rub in 2 tablespoons of salt. Set aside while you prepare the marinade
paste.

Using a Molcajete or mortar and pestle, you will grind all the marinade ingredients together in several stages. First grind 2 tablespoons of salt (you can use rock sea salt), oregano, peppercorns and arbol chilis
together to a fine paste. Add a few drops of orange juice to help break down the chilis into a paste. Add the cumin and coriander and continue grinding until smooth and incorporated. Then add the garlic and after, the achiote paste and 3 tbsp of orange juice.

The mixture
should be a thick paste. Coat the pork well with the paste, wrap in the banana leaves and place in a dutch oven style pot (or in our case, a glass casserole dish). Tuck the cebollitas ( or white onion) around the wrapped bundles and pour 2 cups of orange juice over the top. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°. Place a rack at the
bottom of the oven, make sure the pork is covered with a tight fitting lid or foil ( if not using a dutch oven type pot). Roast for 2 1/2 hours. Turn the meat over and baste it well with
the juices from the bottom of the pot. Cook for another 2 1/2 hours,
or until the meat is soft and falling apart.

After cooking, shred the meat roughly, then pour the fat and juices
from the pan over it. Serve hot, with fresh hot corn tortillas and all your favorites. We served ours with traditional black beans with cotija cheese on top, sauteed zucchini in coconut oil, and a slaw with lime vinaigrette. You can also use the pork in tortas, mexican roll sandwiches, or any way you desire really. It's so good.

* If you cannot find seville oranges, you can use regular sweet oranges and substitute 1/3 of the juice with juice from 4 limes and a lemon. The juice should be tart and sour.

6 comments
:

Your photos tell such a beautiful story, and that pork looks sooo good (but I like seeing it wrapped up in those bright banana leaves too!). And I love seeing all those stoneware cooking vessels. I've been working to improve my lifestyle after reading a book called Health on Your Plate, where I learned about how easy it is for bacteria to hide in scratches on plastic. I'm trying to avoid plastic in my kitchen now, so I love seeing tools like in your photos that are useful and beautiful as well. I guess I'll have to invest in a Molcajete!

I tried cochinita pibil in tacos for the first time ever yesterday in Valladolid. I have to say, though, that yours looks even tastier than the stuff I ate! Definitely have to try and make this when I get home.